Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Gratitude

I wanted to say thanks to everyone for all of the congratulatory messages all over the internet about my receiving tenure and being promoted. It really does mean a lot to me, and I know people are genuinely happy for me. But there are two groups I feel like I need to thank specifically.

First, there are my external reviewers. We have to send our scholarship to three people for review. We put together a list of a few names, and our dean contacts three. I'd heard some horror stories about this process, which freaked me out, of course. But the three people who wrote for me were very generous with their time and efforts. It's not just that they said good things, but they offered copious amounts of detail. They really read things closely. And they characterized my work in ways that I'd never really thought about. I'd mention their names, but I'm not sure how private that part of the process is supposed to be. I was just genuinely humbled by their words.

Second, there are my students. I have been told since I was interviewed that teaching matters heavily here, and that made me happy because I think that's where my gifts lie. Student evaluations play a big role here, something many people have criticized. But, again, I have to thank my students not for saying good things about me but for offering great details on so many evaluations. Sure, there are lots of blank or monosyllabic ones, but many students got very specific about what went well in our classes. It made it very easy to say everything else I had to say about my teaching, and I am very grateful for that.

Obviously, I have to thank Da Man, too, for being a freaking saint through this process. I'm not easy to deal with when I'm stressed, but he knows just how I need to be handled. I'm glad that this means security for him, too.